Deborah Crawford

This book provides biographical profiles of Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643), Mary Dyer (1591?-1660), Lady Deborah Moody (1600-1659) and Penelope Stout (1622-1732). All four women made a name for themselves in what was then a man’s world. Anne Hutchinson scandalized her Massachusetts neighbors with her belief that the Holy Spirit spoke directly to her through the Bible without a minister to interpret it for her. Mary Dyer was censured and finally executed for her Quaker beliefs in a Puritan society. Lady Deborah Moody founded the town of Gravesend on Long Island. Penelope Stout survived a scalping and Native American captivity to become the “mother of New Jersey.”

Since Penelope Stout is my 9th great-grandmother, I am more familiar with her story than that of the other three women. The stories about Penelope Stout are more legend than fact, with the earliest historical accounts of her life appearing several decades after her death. I was prepared for a dearth of footnotes/end notes since this book is aimed at young readers. However, I was not prepared to see quotation marks around Penelope Stout’s words, implying that these words are quoted from another source. Consequently, I would categorize this book as historical fiction rather than history.… (meer)